Improvement in automatic wagon-brakes



W. P. W001). Automatic Wagon-Brake.

No.- 206,063. Patented July 16, I878.

INVENTOR %%%/a WITNESSES ATTORNEYS.

ll-PE ERS, PHDHLUTIIOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON, D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WVADE P. W'OOD, OF LEON, lOlVA.

IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMATIC WAGON-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 206,063, dated July 16, 1878; application filed May 21, 1878.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WADE P. W001), of Leon, in the county of Decatur and State of Iowa, have invented a new and Improved Wagon- Brake, of which the following is a specification:

The object of my improvement is to provide an automatic brake for wagons and other vehicles so constructed that a rise of the forward end of the tongue, such as occurs in going downhill, will apply the brake to the wheels; a forward pull of the team will move the brake away from the wheels; when not pulling, the brake will resume its normal position; and a backward movement of the wheels (as in backing out) will cause the brakeblocks to rise and be released from the wheels.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of the various parts for their several purposes, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a top view of a wagon provided with my automatic brake. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts.

A is the tongue, pivoted with its rear end, by the rod or, between the forward hounds B of the wagon, and which. serves as the main lever to operate the brake when oscillated upon the rod a as its fulcrum. (l are the single-trees, suspended at the ends of the the double-tree D, to the forward side thereof, in the usual manner, and each provided at the point of suspension with a surroundingstrap. b, connecting it underneath the end of the double-tree to adownward U shaped bend, c, of the bail E, the extreme ends of which latter are bent forward and fitted to slide in staples d or other guides on the ends of the double-tree D. The center of the bail E is curved back and goes through ahole in the upright lever F, which is pivoted with its lower end at e on the tongue A, in the center line thereof. Between the point e and the bail E is pivoted, at f, to the lever F, the lower forward end of the link Gr, whose upper rearward end is pivoted at g to the upper end of the upright lever H, which latter is fulcrumed at its middle rear end of the brake-rod I. The lever F and connecting-link Gr together constitute the locklever of the brake, because, when the pivotingpointfis in line with the points 0 and g, or a little in rear of the said line, the pressure of the wheels against the brake cannot move the upper end ofthe lever H forward, but the brake is looked under the pressure of a rigid lever formed of the tongue A and the lower half of the lever H, and acting over the fulcrum a but when the pull of the horses raises the sin,- gle-trees, and, by means of the straps b, draws the bail E forward, the lever F is pulled with the bail, unlocking the lever H, and pulling it forward by the connecting-link G, thereby drawingthe brake-blocks away from the wheels.

To cause the lever F and link G to resume theirnormal or locked position when the horses are not pulling, the lever F is extended above the bail E, and connected atf, by a link, I, to a spiral or other spring, J, secured to the rear end of or underneath the tongue, and acting by its contraction to pull the lever F rearward.

The brake-rod I is made in two pieces, lapping each other, and clamped together by collars K and set-screws k, so that the length of the rod may be varied for the adjustment of the brake. The rear end of the rod I is pivoted to the downward-projecting central arm I of the rock-shaft L, which latter is mounted in bearings on the under side of the rear hounds M and the reach N, and is provided at each end, outside of the rear hounds M, with an upward-projecting arm, m, to which is pivoted the rear end of an iron rod, P, Whose for ward end is threaded for a distance, and inserted through a hole in the brake bar 0, which latter is fastened on the rod P by nuts n, (on the threaded part of the rod P,) tightening against the bar 0, one on each front and rear side thereof. By the nuts n the brakebar 0 can be adjusted on the rod P suitably to take up the wear of the brake-blocks, and again fastened in position. The brake-blocks Q are thicker at their upper than at their lower ends, and their front or friction surface is made to conform in shape to the circumference of the hind wheels R, while their back is vertical and provided with vertical parallel bars q, fitted to slide in holes in the brakebar 0, so that the brake-blocks (being arranged to act on the hind wheels It, above their horizontal diame- Ilaving thus fully described my invention,

ter) can he slid up and down in the brake-bar, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters and, when raised. will be out of pressing eontaet with the wheels.

\Yhen the front end ofthe tongue A is raised, (as is the ease in going: downhill, when the wagon is apt to move tbrward swit'ter than the horses,) the tonguelever ll, kept in position by the lock-lever F (l, arts, by means of the rod l, armed rock-shaft L, and rods 1, to apply the brake on the wheels It and retard theirturnine'. Should it, however, be required to back out, the rise of the tongue A does not interfere with thismovement byappl vin, the brake, as the backward movement of the wagon and hind wheels eauses the brake-blocks (J to rise in the brake-bar and ride easy on the wheels, without pressure enough to retard the movement of the latter.

Patent- The lock-lever F G, combined with hail and straps attached to single-trees to pull the brake from the wheels.

2. The lever F, extended above bail E, and connected at f, by a link, i, to aspiral spring, J as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The straps b, in combination with the single-trees U, and with the bail E, sliding in guides d on the end of the double-tree l), to slide the bail E by the pull of the horses, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

WADE P. W001).

\Yitnesses:

.IonN F. SMITH, L. l. Smucn. 

